Parkland Olympian Torres making a big splash

By SHARON ROBB | South Florida Sun-Sentinel

11:49 PM EDT, July 8, 2008

After a whirlwind week of TV appearances and interviews, Dara Torres goes back into training today for what will be a historic appearance in the Olympics.

The 41-year-old mother from Parkland has become an instant celebrity as a result of her age-defying performances over the weekend at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials.

When she competes in Beijing next month, Torres will be the first American swimmer to compete in five Olympics and the oldest female swimmer in the history of the Games.

"I didn't expect any of this at all," Torres said in a phone interview with the South Florida Sun-Sentinel late Monday from Los Angeles, as she prepared for an appearance on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno. "Maybe a little attention, but nothing like this.

"It's a little bit crazy right now. I could feel it from the crowd at trials. Then when I was walking through the airport people would come up to me and congratulate me. It's like they all know me."

Since the trials began, Torres has probably been the most written about and talked about Olympic athlete.

Last Friday in Omaha, Neb., just hoping to finish in the top six to qualify for a relay, she unexpectedly won the 100-meter freestyle. Two days later, she broke her own American record — for the ninth time — to win the 50-meter freestyle.

"She is the story of the Olympic Games," said her coach, Michael Lohberg of Coral Springs Swim Club. "She is a genuine, fun person and extremely likable. ... People just didn't know that until it all came out at the trials. "She is walking on the pool deck, waving to the crowd with her little girl in her arms. Her charisma and aura was exposed to a large crowd. It was like a tidal wave. ... People who know nothing about the sport know about Dara."

After a flight to Los Angeles and appearances on three network morning shows, Torres returned to normal on Monday with a light workout in a pool and weight room.

Torres said she is focused on winning a medal in Beijing. She withdrew from the 100 to save energy for the 50 and two relays.

"I am 41, you know," she said with a laugh.

Torres reports to training camp today in Stanford, Calif., where there will be no access for media. In Nebraska, Torres stole the spotlight from swim phenom Michael Phelps, who will be trying to win eight gold medals in Beijing.

"I am flattered by all of this," Torres said. "I am still in a state of shock. I never dreamed when I started all of this it would come close to being like this."

Torres' remarkable journey resumed in May 2006, four weeks after the birth of her daughter, Tessa Grace Torres-Hoffman, when she was back in the pool swimming on relays at a masters meet at the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex, where she trains.

Torres, an 18-time All-American at the University of Florida, was persuaded to get back in the water by David Hoffman, her live-in boyfriend and father of her child. Hoffman, a reproductive endocrinologist, is himself a masters swimmer.

Back then, Torres just wanted to get back into shape and lose the 36 pounds she gained during her pregnancy. She swam throughout her pregnancy with masters swim coach Chris Jackson, including the day she went into labor.

"Tessa is sitting on my lap in the hospital and the first thing I asked my doctor was, 'When can I swim again?' He looked at me and said, 'Are you kidding?'"

Two and a half months later, she broke a world age-group record at the Masters World Championships in Stanford. The time was good enough to make the Olympic Trials qualifying standard and got her thinking and talking with Lohberg, a six-time Olympic coach and the head coach at the Coral Springs Aquatic Complex.

In addition to Lohberg and Jackson, Torres started surrounding herself with "good people." At a cost of nearly $100,000 a year, mainly funded by major sponsors such as Toyota, she hired a strength coach, two stretchers, two masseuses, a chiropractor and nanny.

She also anticipated the "drug talk" and asked to be tested above-and-beyond the sport's required testing.

"I am clean and I wanted to be tested to show you can do this with hard work, dedication and good people," Torres said. "If people saw my workout and what I go through, they would understand. When I was younger I swam against swimmers who were doping. I couldn't look at my daughter if I did that."

In August 2007, she set her sights on the Olympics Trials, saying she wanted to be the first 41-year-old mother to qualify for five Olympics. Back then, she never talked about breaking records or winning medals. After all, she had already competed in the 1984, 1988, 1992 and 2000 Olympic Games and won nine medals, including four gold.

"It was something I wanted to do for my daughter," she said. "What 41-year-old mother swims at the Olympics with her daughter watching?"

Now, the whole world will be watching.

Sharon Robb can be reached at srobb@sun-sentinel.com